NRWA Water Report Card for Mid-Summer 2010

NRWA water sampling site at Mill Stand #3 on the North Nashua River in Fitchburg, MA.

Low rain levels, although great for vacationers, have led to low water levels in our local rivers and streams. Rivers may be stressed over the next month depending on the weather.

Intense rain with thunderstorms the night before NRWA’s July 17th sampling day highly influenced the bacteria counts in the North and South Nashua Rivers, and Monoosnoc and Wekepeke Brooks. The high bacteria counts were well over the level set by the boating standard. While we saw numerous hot spots, the main stem of the Nashua River and the Nissitissit and Squannacook remained much cleaner. The nature of the landscape surrounding these streams and the localized nature of the rain storms likely made the difference in bacteria levels. To view water quality data for July and the season to-date. The NRWA’s River Report card is funded by a grant from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.

The NRWA, Nashoba Paddler, Ducks Unlimited, and the Groton Greenway Committee sponsored a water chestnut pull on Pepperell Pond on July 17th. It was a beautiful day to be on the river. Approximately 22 cubic yards of invasive water chestnuts were pulled out, and many expressed a sense of accomplishment at seeing the plants removed from near the main channel area. While canoes and kayaks cannot do the heaviest work of the mechanical harvesters, people pulling from boats can get to the places where the harvesters cannot, and the plants can be controlled from spreading further by hand pulling. The NRWA and our partners will continue to seek private and public funding for mechanical harvesting. A special thank you to Nashoba Paddler for providing the canoes, and to members of Ducks Unlimited for providing the means for shuttling the plants to shore. Thanks also to Raytheon for the snacks, to Roger Goscombe for allowing the use of the tractor and land for composting, and to George Moore for operating the tractor, bringing the canoes, and helping folks get started. And thank you to all the great volunteers who turned out and worked so hard!

Whitman River converging with Flag Brook to form the North Nashua River.

NRWA Works Toward Increasing Recreational Opportunities in Fitchburg

The City of Fitchburg has always been a focal point for the work of the NRWA, even in the earliest days of the clean-up when the river was colored by discharges from Fitchburg's mills. Over the years, the NRWA has had multiple sites that it tests for water quality; it has worked with the City, the Fitchburg Greenway Committee, and North County Land Trust on land protection projects; and the Association has offered environmental education programs in many of the City's schools. The goals have always been the same-- to protect Fitchburg's natural resources for now and for the future.

Youth from the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center assisted with a clean-up along the banks of the river.

An added benefit of this work is that a clean river offers potential for recreation in this urban setting. To learn about recreation in Fitchburg. This year, through a grant from the Massachusetts Environmental Trust (MET), the NRWA has been working with the City, the Fitchburg Greenway Committee, the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, and others to improve water quality in the North Nashua River by working with city officials to seek out sources of bacteria, engaging the youth from the Environmental Justice community located adjacent to the river in activities aimed at improving water quality, and engaging Fitchburg High School students in educational outreach to the community about the storm drainage system in the city. A strengthened NRWA monitoring program for the North Nashua River and its tributaries in Fitchburg will help to ensure continued progress toward a cleaner North Nashua River, with recreational opportunities. To read more about this project.

Drew Casey, NRWA Development Director
November 27, 2009

The Nashua River Watershed Association is deeply saddened by the passing of Drew Casey, NRWA’s Development Director. His passion touched many during the time he worked with the Association and he will be greatly missed. For Drew’s obituary.